Preparing for Your Presentation

Unless your career is public speaking, giving a presentation can be a stressful event. However, if you are well prepared before you give your presentation, you can get through it easily and impress your audience. Here are some steps you will want to take to prep.

Make Your Speech Concise

No one wants to hear an hour-long speech that could have been summed up in fifteen minutes. If you want to keep your audience engaged with your message, you will want to get rid of any information that veers from the main point of what you have to say. When you have to fill a specific amount of time, make sure everything you are saying contributes to your message.

Have Visual Aids

Visual aids are important for both you and your audience. You get a variety of benefits from visual aids including a place to back up what you say with fact, figures and photos. The audience gets something to look at and a way to see how you have supported the points in your speech.

The easiest way to have a visual aid for your speech is to create a PowerPoint slideshow where you can add a range of different charts, photos, bullet points and more. If you are not familiar with the software, you can always hire a professional to create a custom PowerPoint design for you.

Practice, Practice, Practice

To make sure you are staying within your allotted time and keeping your speech matched with your PowerPoint slides, it is vital that you spend time practicing your speech. This will give you more confidence in how you are presenting yourself.

Try practicing both on your own and with a small audience that can help give you necessary feedback so your presentation can be prefect when the time comes.